Even though Jurgen Klopp is contracted to Liverpool until 2026, speculation regarding his successor never goes away entirely. At present, his assistant Pep Lijnders is the favourite with the bookmakers.
It feels like he is being prepared for the role, by taking press conferences for cup games and leading the team in Klopp’s absence. Promoting the assistant manager would feel like something of a return to the Boot Room traditions which served the club so well for 40 years following Bill Shankly’s appointment.
However, Lijnders doesn’t have much experience of first team management. His career consists of 22 matches with NEC Nijmegen four years ago. While it would not be promoting from within, there is a former Liverpool player who is starting to build a decent looking managerial CV elsewhere.
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And we’re not talking about Steven Gerrard either. The former Reds skipper – third in the next manager betting, behind Thomas Tuchel – did lead Rangers to the Scottish title but his time at Aston Villa did not work out well. In Gerrard’s 38 league games in the west Midlands, his side only earned 44 points, and that despite having the eighth most expensive squad in the division ( after transfer inflation is applied ).
Three years is a long time in football. Gerrard could succeed wherever his career takes him next and push himself towards the front of the Klopp succession queue. But in the meantime, his former midfield colleague Xabi Alonso has made a solid start in his first job in one of Europe’s big five leagues.
When the Spaniard was appointed by Bayer Leverkusen – a club Sami Hyypia has previously managed – they were second bottom of the Bundesliga, with just one win from their opening eight games. They have since won four of Alonso’s seven league matches, giving them the fourth best record in Germany since his appointment.
The break for the World Cup has come at a bad time. Leverkusen won their last three league games by an aggregate score of 9-1. This run included a 5-0 hammering of Union Berlin, who were top of the table at the start of the weekend in which the match occurred. The scoreline flattered Alonso’s side – it was more like a 2-0 win on expected goals – but it was a stunning result all the same.
Two of the goals that day were scored by Moussa Diaby, who has been linked with Liverpool in the past. The 23-year-old appears reinvigorated, having bagged seven goals and two assists in Alonso’s 10 games in charge. On-loan Chelsea midfielder Callum Hudson-Odoi has recently praised the Spaniard too.
"He’s definitely more hands on than the other coaches I’ve had,” he said. “He’s still kicking balls and has that mentality of wanting to win games. It’s nice. When he talks, everyone listens because he knows what he’s talking about."
From the outside, Alonso appears to work well with younger players. His previous role was as manager of Real Sociedad’s B team, which is effectively a youth side. A former player of the club himself, Alonso steered them into the Spanish second flight, and though unable to keep them there, his efforts need to be put into context. His side had an average age of just 21.3 years old last season, a full four years younger than all but one of the other clubs in the division.
More important than staying up (and they only fell five points short across 42 matches) was player development. The fact 10 men who appeared for Alonso in 2021/22 have gone on to represent the Sociedad first team, who sit third in La Liga this season, speaks well of his efforts.
He will obviously need a broader body of work if he is to become Liverpool manager one day, and as Leverkusen have the fourth most valuable squad in the Bundesliga ( per Transfermarkt ), perhaps all he has done at this point is return them to par. Doing so is never a given, though, and with a Europa League tie with Taki Minamino’s Monaco to come early next year, Alonso will gain further vital experience this season. He might not be the favourite to be the Reds’ next boss yet but he is certainly one to watch.
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